Photogenesis
by Mythril Moth
Summary: On the advice of his publicist, Gabriel Agreste decides to make some changes to Adrien's public presence. In addition to more activity on social media and more time seen hanging out with friends, Adrien has been assigned a girlfriend. And the lucky girl assigned to him is...Marinette!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes:**

Hello, readers! It's been too long since I've done any serious work on any Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction!

And yet, here I am with a new story for you all that's probably going to have the same glacial update pace as my others. _-_

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this and will forgive me for this not being an update to Black Widow, Thermopylae, Disastrous, or A Little Chat. (One day, I SWEAR!)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "PHOTOGENESIS"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

 **Chapter 1**

Gabriel Agreste fixed a stern frown upon the man seated across from him. " _No,_ René. And that's final."

René, a tall, thin man with a long face, a narrow nose, deep-set eyes, and thinning silver-blond hair, steepled his long fingers. "Now, Gabriel," he said calmly, "the research doesn't lie. If you'll just—"

"I don't care about your blasted research!" Gabriel interrupted impatiently.

"Then why hire me at all, hmm?" René said mildly, a small smile on his face. "In case you have forgotten, my old friend, this sort of thing is _precisely_ why I have been your publicist since you introduced your first collection."

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose. "What you're proposing," he said tiredly, "is preposterous. Furthermore, it makes no sense."

" _Au contraire_ , it makes _perfect_ sense!" René insisted. "Gabriel, Adrien is a teenage boy. Some would say he is _the_ teenage boy. Beautiful, personable, humble, intelligent, quiet, thoughtful..." He paused, then shook his head. "Alright, so he's a living, breathing fairy tale, because he is literally the only teenage boy I know who is _any of that_." He chuckled. "But to Parisians, and especially to his peers, he is an ideal."

"I won't deny that," Gabriel said, arching an eyebrow. "After all, I have carefully guided his education and development to _ensure_ precisely that."

René's smile dropped ever so slightly. "Yes. Well." He coughed politely. "The problem is that like yourself, Adrien is largely an enigma. To the world, he's little more than a pretty face."

"I see nothing wrong with that," Gabriel said.

"Except that _it isn't normal_ ," René insisted. "Teenagers, they're _social_ creatures. They go to movies and concerts. They hang out with friends. They date." He leaned forward. "Adrien has to take great pains to avoid being seen when he goes out to have fun with his friends, _non?_ "

Gabriel's lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes narrowing. "I'm not certain I appreciate the accusation, René."

"My apologies," René said, leaning back and smiling genially. "I simply mean to say that as a child of the digital age, Adrien should be more than simply a pretty face in nice clothes. He should be _seen_. He should be active on social media." His eyes twinkled. "He should have a pretty girl on his arm, one who will captivate Paris as much as Adrien himself without driving his admirers insane with jealousy." He paused. "Well, not _overly_ so."

Gabriel said nothing. René took that as a sign to continue. "Adrien needs a photogenic girl his age, one who complements his perfection without stealing the spotlight. A girl he can be seen enjoying life with." He leaned forward again. "It's something ordinary kids can _identify_ with, Gabriel. They can look at pictures of Adrien and his girlfriend, read his posts about dating and spending time with her, and feel like perhaps..." He made a swishing gesture with one hand. "Perhaps we are not so different from this gorgeous, perfect boy, _non?_ Perhaps with the right clothes, the right hair, we can be as happy as Adrien Agreste." He spread his hands wide. "It's a positive message, and positive messages _sell_."

"Hmm," Gabriel said thoughtfully. "I understand what you're saying, René. I simply feel this is not right for _my_ son."

René dropped his obsequious facade and gave Gabriel a solemn, sincere look. "It's _healthy_ , Gabriel," he said. " _Especially_ for a boy who has lost his mother. This is not only good for his image and your business, it is good for _the boy_."

A silence lapsed between the two men. Finally, Gabriel sighed. "Adrien will balk at having a girlfriend assigned to him," he said.

René smiled, his obsequiousness back in place, along with a twinkle of mischief. "You might be surprised," he said. "Find the right girl, one who's the perfect fit, and..." He linked his hands and mimicked a bird taking off.

Gabriel stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Very well. I will assign Nathalie to the task of selecting candidates at once."

René's smile dropped slightly. "Are you certain this task is...ahem...suited for her?"

Gabriel's lips thinned. "She knows Adrien better than anyone," he said. His face fell slightly. "Admitting that is no small feat."

René sighed. "Between old friends," he said. "Though as an old friend, I think you could be a bit less distant from your son."

Gabriel's eyes tightened. "I have my reasons," he said flatly. "In any case, I will assign this project to Nathalie. And now, I have other matters to attend to. Good day, René."

René stood, a mild frown on his face. "Until our next appointment then."

* * *

When one was the personal assistant of Gabriel Agreste, one learned to manage extreme levels of stress with complete poise and composure. One learned to live with the unexpected. One perfected the art of maintaining one's stone face and emotionless, professional, detached demeanor regardless of the situation.

All of which was the only reason Nathalie Sancoeur refrained from yelling "What the FUCK?!" upon receiving her newest assignment from her employer. Instead, she adjusted her glasses, her thin eyebrows raising only slightly. "I'm sorry, Monsieur Agreste, you want me to _what?_ "

"Assemble a list of prospective girlfriends for my son," Gabriel repeated calmly, in his usual detached, businesslike tone. "Candidates who photograph well and complement Adrien are priority, of course, but relatability and notability are important considerations. I want a girl who is successful and noteworthy on her own merits, preferably from a family of some significance, but not necessarily a girl from a higher social circle. Ideally, she should not outshine Adrien, of course. He must always take the spotlight. That is important." With a slight frown, he added, "Chloé Bourgeois should _not_ be on the list. At all."

"Agreed," Nathalie said as she took notes on her tablet.

"This girl should be someone who looks good with Adrien," Gabriel continued, "but who will be relatable to his admirers. A girl as wholesome and decent as my son..." He trailed off.

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. "A girl every girl in Paris would want to be friends with rather than want to kill in a jealous rage?" she suggested.

Gabriel smirked. "Yes. That." He steepled his fingers. "And most importantly, she should not be a complete unknown. Her name should be recognized. The media should have an easy time identifying her and publishing her achievements."

Nathalie frowned at that. "You understand this is a tall order," she said.

"I expect you to fulfill this task with your usual efficiency, Nathalie," Gabriel said curtly.

Nathalie glanced over her notes, brow furrowed. "Hmm." Her lips pursed. "Strangely enough, there _is_ a girl who immediately springs to mind who meets every single one of these requirements..." At Gabriel's raised eyebrow, she began hurriedly swiping at her tablet. "A classmate of Adrien's at Collège Françoise Dupont, Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Gabriel's brow furrowed. "The bowler hat with the pigeon feather and her name embroidered in the design, if memory serves."

"Yes," Nathalie said. "She is also class representative, an aspiring fashion design student, and was personally chosen by Jagged Stone to design the cover of his latest album." She adjusted her glasses. "Her parents own a bakery near the school and are well-respected in the community. Also, her great uncle is a world famous chef."

Gabriel stroked his chin. "Yes," he said thoughtfully. "She does sound like exactly the sort of girl...hmm."

Nathalie held up her tablet, which displayed a picture of Marinette. "This is her," she said helpfully.

"Yes, I remember her," Gabriel said briskly, nodding. "She even photographs well...very well then. See to it. Tell Adrien I wish to speak with him in..." He glanced over his schedule. "One hour. I trust you can present his new girlfriend within that timeframe?"

Nathalie fought to keep her face neutral. "Of course," she said.

* * *

Saturday was not ordinarily a terribly busy day at the boulangerie. Today was proving to be an exception, as Tom Dupain was working on six different custom orders which had come in one right on top of the other with very short delivery windows, and Sabine and Marinette were handling an unexpected rush of customers. Things had just started to calm down; Marinette leaned against the counter and let out a sigh. "That was crazy," she panted.

The door opened; Marinette braced herself for another wave of customers, but blinked when Nathalie Sancoeur walked in, barely paying attention to where she was going as she rapidly swiped and tapped away at her tablet. "Uhh, hi," Marinette said shakily. "Can I...help you?"

Nathalie looked up and adjusted her glasses. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she greeted. "You've been summoned by Gabriel Agreste. It is important. Please change clothes, freshen up, and come with me at once."

Marinette blinked. "Huh?" She looked at Sabine.

Sabine shrugged. "Go ahead," she said. "I think I can handle anything else that comes up." She glanced curiously at Nathalie. "I would like to know what this is all about, though."

"It's sensitive," Nathalie said. "It does involve Adrien."

Marinette was gone before either woman could register her abrupt disappearance. Sabine blinked rapidly. Shaking her head, she turned to Nathalie. "So, what _exactly_ is this about?" she asked.

Nathalie frowned slightly. "Something that's either going to go very well or very poorly," she said. "I'm honestly not sure which." Adjusting her glasses, she added, "in a sense, you could call this Monsieur Agreste's rather peculiar idea of matchmaking."

Sabine blinked, tilting her head. "I...see?"

"Oh, don't worry. The absolute worst that would happen is your daughter would return home embarrassed or in a bad mood," Nathalie said reassuringly...or her version of it. Sabine frowned, but before she could press the issue, Marinette reappeared, freshly scrubbed and dressed.

"I'll be back later Mama!" she called as she flung herself past Nathalie and out the door. Nathalie raised an eyebrow, turned, and left.

Sabine shook her head and smirked. "Well...this should be an interesting story..."

* * *

Marinette bounced lightly in the back seat of the car as Nathalie belted herself in and started the engine. Catching Nathalie's mildly reproachful look in the rear view mirror, she forced herself to stillness and cleared her throat. "So, umm...what exactly is going on?"

"Monsieur Agreste has decided that Adrien needs to maintain a social image more appropriate to a boy his age," Nathalie said as she pulled away from the curb. "That includes social media, spending more time in public, and dating a girl his age." A pause. "I have been instructed to find a suitable girlfriend for Adrien based on certain select criteria given to me by Monsieur Agreste. Based on those criteria, I have selected you."

Marinette let out a gasp, her eyes wide and her face red. "Wh-what?"

"I understand this is not precisely normal," Nathalie said, her face softening somewhat, "but this is a decision Monsieur Agreste has made. If you are not comfortable with this, I understand. I will find another candidate—"

"N-no, it's not that!" Marinette stammered. "It's just...w-what does Adrien think about...I mean—"

Nathalie grimaced. "He has not been informed yet," she said. "We will be waiting in the reception room at the mansion until Monsieur Agreste summons us once he has informed Adrien of the situation."

Marinette frowned. "So he's just forcing this on Adrien without his input, out of the blue?"

Nathalie glanced at her in the rear view, then sighed. "It's his way."

An awkward silence fell.

"I...am sorry about the scarf," Nathalie said quietly. "You put a lot of effort into making it for Adrien. It was wrong to remove your name from the package, to let Adrien believe it was from his father."

Marinette sighed. "N-no, it's alright. I mean, I saw how happy it made him to have gotten a nice gift from his dad, even though it wasn't really. I think that was probably a better present than the scarf itself."

Nathalie's eyes softened. "You care a great deal for him."

"W-well, I...!" Marinette's face heated up. "I..." She trailed off and dropped her gaze.

They pulled into the rear entrance of the Agreste estate. Nathalie turned off the engine. "Come, we'll have coffee and macarons while we wait."

"A-alright..."

* * *

Adrien stood outside the door to his father's study, taking a deep breath. Inwardly, he reflected on what it said about his life that whenever his father asked to speak with him in person, it made him apprehensive and set him on edge. _*Normal kids don't have a panic attack when their fathers want to talk to them. Then again, normal kids don't have_ _ **appointments**_ _just to talk to their fathers...*_

Pushing down all his anxiety and resentment, Adrien schooled his face into a model's calm poise and knocked on the door.

"Come in," he heard from the other side. He pushed the door open and walked across the room. Gabriel stood with his back to the door, hands clasped behind his back, gazing up at the portrait of Adrien's mother.

"You wanted to see me, Father?" Adrien asked.

"Sit down," Gabriel commanded. Adrien crossed to one of the large leather chairs in the room and took a seat. Without looking at him, Gabriel continued, "There are going to be some changes."

 _*Oh no. He's pulling me out of school and locking me up again.*_ "Father, I—"

"You currently have no social media presence," Gabriel cut across him. "This is going to change. Nathalie is already preparing a number of social media accounts for you and will set them up on your phone. They will be yours to do with as you please, but don't forget that they _will_ be monitored. Conduct yourself appropriately."

Adrien blinked. This was...unexpected. Beyond texting his friends and sharing photos, he'd been forbidden from having even so much as a Twitter account. "I...don't understand," Adrien said shakily.

Gabriel turned to look at him. "It has been brought to my attention that making you more relatable will raise the standing of our brand among your peers. The importance of social media is something I cannot ignore. Your recognition will increase through proper social media usage."

Adrien suppressed a sigh. _*Of course.*_ "Very well, Father."

"One other thing," Gabriel said. "You are to be assigned a girlfriend. You will be seen with her in public often. You will post about spending time with her online."

Adrien's jaw dropped. _"...what?!"_

"This is also part of the shift in marketing," Gabriel said emotionlessly. "Your peers will see you having fun with an approachable, relatable girl and..." He frowned. "Well, I doubt I need to explain it."

Adrien's brow furrowed. "So...you're just throwing some random girl at me and expecting me to act like we're a happy couple, all for some dumb marketing ploy?"

"It's hardly _dumb_ ," Gabriel snapped. "This is also for your own benefit. Dating and engaging in social media are..." His mouth twisted. " _Healthy_ for a boy your age."

"Yeah but...you can't just _assign_ it like this!" Adrien protested. "That's not healthy at all!"

"This is how it's going to be," Gabriel declared. He glanced at his phone. "Your new girlfriend has arrived at the mansion. Nathalie will be bringing her to the study momentarily."

 _*This isn't happening. This is completely insane!*_ "But...! Father, I—!"

The door swung open. Nathalie walked in, her heels clicking on the floor. "She is here, Monsieur Agreste," she said.

"Show her in."

Adrien watched as a girl stepped out from behind the door, her face burning red but also pale with dread.

His eyes widened.

Marinette squeaked and offered Adrien a small wave, pasting a sheepish smile on her face.

Adrien gaped. "Marinette...?"

"Umm..." Marinette ducked her head. "Mademoiselle Sancoeur...told me what's going on," she said in a quavering voice. "I, umm...I..." She began poking her fingertips together. "Idon'thaveaproblemwithitifyou'reokaywithit," she blurted out in a rush.

Adrien blinked. "You...really...?"

"I mean...!" Marinette put her hand behind her head and laughed shakily. "We're friends, right? I mean...if you have to have a girlfriend for...y'know...reasons..." She looked away slightly. "It's better if it's a friend, right?"

Adrien did his best impression of a floundering fish for several seconds. "W-well...yeah!"

"Excellent," Gabriel said briskly. "The two of you will be given a social schedule by Nathalie." He glanced at his tablet. "I am expecting an important call in five minutes. You are excused, all of you. Nathalie, see to their needs."

"Of course, Monsieur Agreste. If you would both come with me..."

Adrien's mind whirled, his emotions a hurricane as he followed Nathalie to the receiving room, Marinette at his side and darting cautious, nervous glances at him. Her face was burning scarlet, making her freckles stand out. He felt his own face heat up. He took a step closer to her. "Marinette, are you sure you're okay with this?" he whispered. "I mean, this isn't normal, you know that, right?"

"I know," Marinette whispered back, her face turning even more red. "It's, I, well, I..." She took a deep breath. "This is the kind of thing you'll have to do no matter what, right?" At Adrien's frown and nod, Marinette pressed on, "I...I want to..." She faltered. "It won't be too bad if it's a friend you..."

Adrien gave her a gentle smile. "Marinette...you're truly amazing, you know that? But this isn't fair to you. There's no telling how long this charade is going to go on. I don't...I wouldn't want you to get tied up in something—"

"It's fine!" Marinette said sharply and hastily. "I mean..." She played with her hair. "I'm not...you know..."

"But if you had somebody you wanted to go out with, or someone asked you out," Adrien pressed, "this gets in the way of that. I don't feel right doing that to you."

"I do!" Marinette blurted. Then, after an awkward pause, she added, "I-I mean...let me worry about that." She gave Adrien a genuine smile. "I have no problems with this, if...if you don't mind..."

Adrien blushed. "N-no, I don't _mind_ ," he stammered. "I-I'm just...worried about you," he said. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"I'm okay with it!" Marinette agreed feverishly, nodding rapidly.

Adrien tilted his head curiously at her reaction. "Well...okay then..."

As they sat down and Nathalie left them to attend to other matters, Marinette felt like her heart was about to explode out of her chest.

 _*I'm Adrien's girlfriend...!*_

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes:**

Hello, readers! Before we get into the next chapter, I want to thank everyone for your kind reviews on the first chapter! There's one point I want to address specifically:

Guest reviewer "Ugh": I think you misunderstood what Gabriel meant by "monitored". He didn't mean Adrien and Marinette are going to be watched wherever they go and whatever they do, he meant that Nathalie is going to be following his Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to make sure he _doesn't post anything he shouldn't._ Y'know...the thing every teenager's parents are supposed to do but don't.

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "PHOTOGENESIS"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

 **Chapter 2**

Adrien and Marinette sat awkwardly on the expensive leather sofa in the receiving room of the Agreste mansion. Marinette was nervously twisting the hem of her blouse with her fingers. Adrien was idly drumming his fingers on his knees. They kept sneaking glances at each other and looking away.

Finally, Adrien broke the silence. "Umm...so...this is really, really awkward."

Marinette giggled through her nose. "Y-yeah, it...it is," she agreed. "Totally. Totally awkward."

Adrien sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I dunno," he said. "We should—I mean, this whole thing is so messed up. My father can't just..." He gesticulated. "Force this! Not like this."

Marinette sighed. "I know," she said. "Mademoiselle Sancoeur explained the whole thing to me on the way over here. I...I don't agree with what he's doing at all. But..." She glanced at Adrien. "I think there's good intentions behind it, I mean..." She coughed. "Or rather, I think there's something good about all this, even if it's coming from a really stupid place? Ah! Not that your dad's stupid, he's brilliant, he's my idol! It's just—"

"Father is a cold and distant person," Adrien said quietly. "It's been that way since Mother..." He bowed his head.

Marinette studied him, her eyes clouding. She hesitantly reached over and took hold of his hand, feeling an electric tingle at the contact. "Hey," she said softly. Adrien looked up, and Marinette fought down the tomato-red blush threatening to take over her entire body. "This whole thing means you'll get to hang out more and do more normal stuff, right?"

"Well...yeah," Adrien said. "On Father's terms, but—"

"Forget his terms," Marinette said. "Just...just forget the parts of this you don't like, and...and maybe find what you _do_ like in this and enjoy it?"

Adrien blinked, then looked at Marinette. "Well...yeah," he said. "But I can't enjoy it at someone else's expense. Especially not when it's you."

Marinette ducked her head coyly. "Why especially me?" she asked.

"W-well..." Adrien blushed faintly. "It's just...you're one of the most amazing people I know," he said. "I mean, you're creative, talented, everyone respects you, everyone looks up to you..."

"No they don't," Marinette said, her ears burning.

"But they _do_ ," Adrien insisted. "And _I...I_ respect you," he said. "I...I just don't want you to get dragged into this mess when you've got your own stuff—"

"I _want_ to get dragged into it," Marinette interrupted breathlessly. After a moment of moving her mouth soundlessly, she added, "I mean..." She cleared her throat. "I...I want to spend more time with you. I mean...we don't really, y'know? Spend time. And stuff."

Adrien scratched the back of his head. "Heh...I guess not, huh? I mean, I used to think you still hated me, but I know better than that now. I mean, we've had some good times together...even if some stupid supervillain always shows up and ruins it."

Marinette laughed. "Oh yeah, like when my uncle got turned into Kung Food, or when we got chased by that game robot..."

"Yeah, yeah!" Adrien laughed along with her. "It just seems like any time we really get a chance to hang out and talk and be, y'know, normal friends, something comes up. Or you..." He paused, then scratched at his cheek. "Well..." He coughed. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you..."

"Umm...spaz out around you?"

"Yeah."

Marinette let out a shaky breath, practically burying her face between her drawn-up knees. "Yyyyyeeeeeah..."

"Uhh...so why is that?" Adrien asked. "I mean, if it's not because you don't like me, is it...is it because of who my father is? Is it because I'm a model? Because—"

Marinette looked up at him with a face that made him stop dead in his tracks. Something changed in her eyes, and then softly, quietly, she said, "Did you ever stop to think...maybe it's just because you're a really cute boy?"

Adrien blinked. His mouth moved soundlessly. Slowly, his eyes widened. "...huh?" he managed.

Marinette sat back and took a deep breath. "I...I flake out around you because...you're cute," she said. "There. I...there."

"Oh," Adrien said softly.

"And so..." Marinette picked at her jeans. "And so...that's why I want..." She stopped, then started again. "That's why I'm cool with...with all this. No matter how crazy it is." She looked up at Adrien again. "That's...that's okay, right?"

Adrien blinked again. He felt his own ears heating up. "Uhh...y-yeah," he stammered. "Yeah, that's..."

And suddenly, Marinette was no longer simply the amazing, talented, somewhat clumsy and spastic girl from his class that was one of his first friends.

Marinette was a girl. And an incredibly cute one.

"Y-yeah, I...yeah," he said softly, no longer trusting his words.

Before things could grow more awkward between them, Nathalie returned, her fingers flying across her ever-present tablet. "I've scheduled dates for the two of you tonight, tomorrow, Wednesday afternoon, and Friday evening," she said. "Two of those are cinema dates, one is a concert, and tomorrow is a free date for the two of you to do whatever you like." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a phone which she handed to Adrien. "I've set up your social media apps and profiles. Make whatever basic changes you see fit, but keep it clean."

Adrien blinked as he accepted the phone. "When did you—" He shook his head. "You could've just _asked me_ to hand you my phone instead of—!"

Marinette _almost_ thought she saw a smirk cross Nathalie's face. "You were distracted. It was easier just to take it. Now, the details for your dates will be e-mailed to both of you—I already have your number, Marinette, as well as your e-mail, and have put them into Adrien's phone."

Adrien went through his contacts and frowned slightly. "Huh. I think I've seen this number before..."

"Ah! I—I might have called you once," Marinette said. "But it went to voice mail and it wasn't important so I, um, I didn't leave a message."

"Oh," Adrien said. He shrugged. "Alright."

 _(In Adrien's pocket, Plagg narrowed his eyes suspiciously.)_

"So, uh...you have my number already then?" Adrien asked.

"I...think I do," Marinette said, pulling out her own phone. Nathalie swiftly plucked it from her and spent several seconds going through it, then handed it back. "H-HEY!" Marinette protested.

Nathalie pushed her glasses up with her index and middle fingers. "Adrien's number and e-mail have been updated and you're following him on Twitter and Instagram," she said primly. "Anything else, you can do later."

 _"...thanks,"_ Marinette said in the same wry, sour tone she used when addressing Chloé.

Nathalie handed Adrien a slip of paper. "Your social media passwords," she said. "Don't lose them."

"Alright," Adrien said, nodding as he folded it into his pocket. "Thank you, Nathalie."

"You're free for the rest of the afternoon," Nathalie informed Adrien. "You may do as you wish. I suggest you explain things to Marinette's parents. The car will collect you for the cinema at 18:00." With that, she turned and left the room, her heels clicking sharply.

Marinette stared after her, then turned to Adrien. "Is this...is this normal?"

Adrien sighed. "Around here? Yes." He stood, grunting. "Umm...do you wanna maybe...go back to your place, talk to your parents?"

Marinette grimaced. "Yeah, that's...that's probably a good idea," she said. She looked Adrien up and down. "Umm...n-not that you look bad or anything, but maybe change? I mean, if we're..." She blushed. "If we're going on our first date tonight?"

"Huh? Oh! Oh, umm...yeah," Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head and laughing sheepishly. "Gimme a few minutes." And with that, he hurried out of the room.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Marinette slumped against the back of the couch. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa," she half-moaned, half-croaked.

Tikki floated up out of her purse, giggling. "Well, this is interesting!" she tittered.

Marinette glared at her. "If by interesting you mean _a completely insane train wreck!_ "

"Oh? What's so bad about it? You're Adrien's girlfriend, and you're getting to spend time with him!"

"Yeah, but I didn't...! I mean, it's...AAUGH!"

Tikki rolled her eyes. "Marinette. You've heard of arranged marriages, right?"

Marinette eyed her. "Yeah?" she said guardedly.

"Well, a lot of couples who were arranged to marry back in the old days fell in love and were lifelong, inseparable friends!" Tikki offered Marinette a bright smile. "Sure, this is a strange way to start a relationship in this day and age, but this could be exactly what you need! And exactly what you've wanted since you met Adrien!" She did a loop in midair. "Have some faith!"

Marinette sighed. "Maybe," she said dreamily, a silly smile crossing her face.

The door opened. Tikki hurriedly dove back into Marinette's purse. Adrien walked in, dressed in black slacks, black leather shoes, a dark blue shirt, and a black jacket. "Ready?" he asked.

Marinette's face heated up. "Y-yes," she said.

* * *

The Gorilla drove them to the boulangerie, despite their insistence on walking the short distance. "Is it always gonna be like this?" Marinette asked.

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Get used to it," he said. Once the car stopped, the two teens got out; the driver waited until they had opened the front door before leaving.

The front of the store was empty; Sabine was polishing the counter. She looked up and smiled. "Adrien! Hello! It's so good to see you again!"

"Ma'am," Adrien said with a polite nod.

"You're all dressed up," Sabine noted. "Just got out of a photo shoot?"

"Not...exactly," Adrien said.

"Mama?" Marinette said softly. "We need to talk about something important."

Sabine stopped working, her lips pursed in mild confusion. "Oh?"

"And...and if Papa isn't too busy right now—"

Tom walked in from the back, dusting flour from his hands. "I'm just about to take a break," he said. "Hello, Adrien!"

"Hello, sir," Adrien said with a slightly nervous smile.

Marinette fidgeted. "So, umm...can we all go upstairs to talk?"

Tom and Sabine exchanged a glance. Tom nodded. "Close up down here," he said as he went into the back to remove his apron.

Once the 'Closed' sign had been put in the window and the front door locked, the little group went up to the living room on the second floor. Once everyone was seated, Sabine folded her hands in her lap. "Alright, what's going on?" she asked.

Marinette picked at her blouse and kicked her heels against the sofa. "W-well..." She coughed. "Adrien and I...we're sort of...going to start dating now," she said.

Sabine gasped. "That's _wonderful!_ " she squealed.

"Yeah," Marinette said.

Sabine tilted her head. "Honey? Isn't that what yo—"

"There's more," Marinette said hurriedly across her, making Adrien blink. She closed her eyes. "The thing is, it's sort of an...well, you've heard of arranged marriages? This is a, well...arranged...being boyfriend and girlfriend...thing." She gestured lamely as she finished, a sickly smile on her face.

Her parents blinked in confusion, looking at one another, then at Adrien.

Adrien shrugged with a 'please don't kill me' expression. "My father suddenly wants Paris to see me doing normal teen stuff," he said. "Social media, hanging out with friends...dating. So he decided to, well...assign me a girlfriend." He gestured vaguely with his hands.

Sabine frowned. Tom's moustache twitched.

"We're both okay with it!" Adrien said hurriedly. "I mean...we're both okay with it. I'm okay with it, Marinette..."

"I'm super okay with it!" Marinette insisted, nodding rapidly. "Because we're friends, and...and we can have a lot of fun together, hang out...have fun...you know?"

"So you're going to be dating because Monsieur Agreste decided it," Tom said, scratching his chin.

Adrien sighed. "My father's rules are strict. And strange. But when he gives me certain permissions..." He hung his head. "And this whole thing _does_ come with a lot of new permissions I really want...I have to put up with it or I risk losing the privileges I have."

Sabine and Tom exchanged a worried glance. "That's...no way for a child your age to live," Sabine said.

Adrien shrugged. "It's how things are at my house," he said simply. "Oh, I'm...I'm not mistreated or anything! Just..."

"Lonely," Marinette said, her hand straying to Adrien's.

Tom and Sabine let out soft sighs.

"Anyway," Adrien said hurriedly, "I just...we wanted you to...we wanted to make sure this is okay with you. Marinette, umm...dating and stuff, I mean..."

"Of course it is," Tom said reassuringly. His moustache twitched upward. "I hope you two have fun together." He chuckled. "But not too much fun, non?" He winked.

Marinette choked and spluttered. "Papa!" Her entire face lit up crimson.

Sabine laughed and playfully slapped Tom on the arm. "Seriously," she said, "as long as you kids are having a good time, it's fine with us." She winked. "I always thought the two of you looked cute together."

Adrien blushed furiously, glancing at Marinette, who ducked her head.

"Why, you almost look as cute together as Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Sabine went on. "Don't they, Tom?"

"They sure do," Tom agreed, grinning.

Fortunately, neither of them noticed the sudden pale sheen of sweat on each teen's brow. Nor did the two teens notice each other's reaction.

"So!" Sabine said lightly, clapping her hands together. "When are you having your first date?"

"Tonight actually," Adrien said. "My driver will be coming back in about two hours to pick us up for the cinema."

"How lovely!" Sabine said. "Oh, but after that, you must join us for dinner here!"

"Really?" Adrien asked.

"We insist!" Tom said with a broad smile.

"Alright," Adrien said. "I'll have to clear it with Nathalie, but...if you insist..."

"They insist," Marinette said, nodding rapidly. Sabine giggled at that.

Adrien shot Marinette an odd glance, then texted Nathalie. While he did so, Marinette cleared her throat. "So, umm...I'm going to go upstairs to change clothes, then I'll come back down here and we can...talk..."

Tom and Sabine looked at each other. "We'll leave you two to talk and hang out," Sabine said. "I think Tom's break is just about up, right?"

"Oh, yes," Tom agreed. "I have to get back to work on those rush orders!"

With that, Marinette hurried upstairs, while her parents ambled back downstairs, leaving Adrien alone in the small living room with the pale pink sofa.

"They seem nice," Plagg said.

"Yeah," Adrien agreed quietly, looking around.

"Doesn't this place seem a little cramped to you?" Plagg asked idly.

Adrien shook his head. "No," he said. "It's...cozy. Comfortable." He leaned back against the somewhat worn sofa and smiled. "I like the smell here."

Plagg wrinkled his nose. "Too much bread, not enough cheese," he said.

Adrien rolled his eyes. "If you ask me, bread smells a lot better than cheese..."

Plagg gave him a sly grin. "And Marinette?"

Adrien didn't bother answering.

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes:**

Hey everyone! Thanks again for all the awesome reviews.

Work on this one may slow down a little bit over the coming weeks because I do have a _lot_ on my plate writing-wise. But I'm going to try not to let _this_ one stall out for months like I've done with some of my other stories.

Oh, and expect the social media related stuff in this story to be blatantly silly and stupid.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "PHOTOGENESIS"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

 **Chapter 3**

Marinette collapsed into a dreamy puddle of goo on her chaise.

Tikki flittered around her head. "Get a grip, girlfriend!" she said. "He'll be expecting you, you know!"

Marinette sighed breathily. "I just...I need a minute," she said. "I'm actually _finally going on a date with Adrien!_ "

"Yes. You are. Now how about taking down this shrine to him and getting changed for the movie so you'll have more time to hang out!"

Marinette's eyes widened. She looked around the room, her face paling as she took in Adrien's face smiling at her from every angle. "GAH!" Like a tornado, she whirled around the room, sweeping up photos and magazine covers and clippings and finding places to stuff them.

"The schedule! The schedule!"

"AH!" Marinette jumped straight up and practically _tore_ the hanging chart of Adrien's schedule off the ceiling, then crammed it behind her dresser. She panted, wiping her brow. "Whew."

"And now you just need to get dressed..."

Marinette froze in panic. "Oh no! What am I gonna wear? This is a disaster..."

Tikki sighed. "Calm down..."

* * *

As Tom and Sabine bustled around the kitchen, they discussed Marinette and Adrien.

Mostly Adrien.

"Isn't it strange, though?" Sabine said. "I mean, that isn't something a normal parent does."

"I know," Tom said with a sigh. "But it isn't our place to say anything."

"But I can't just ignore what that boy's going through!"

"The best thing we can do is make sure he always feels welcome in our home," Tom said.

"I guess." Sabine smiled. "Besides, Marinette is completely head over heels in love with him."

Tom frowned. "Yes," he said. "That's the thing that worries me about all this."

"What do you mean?"

"What if Adrien doesn't feel the same way? What if he never feels the same way about her?"

Sabine scoffed. "Please. Like any boy could possibly resist our sweet, beautiful little girl."

"True, and they _are_ perfect for each other. But if it doesn't click?" Tom sighed. "I'm just worried about what it'll do to her if Adrien never feels the same way."

Sabine frowned. "Hmm..." She shook her head. "No, I'm positive it'll work. I just...I just wish they had gotten together in a more, you know... _normal_ way."

"Yeah..."

* * *

While Adrien waited for Marinette, he played with the new apps on his phone, getting the feel for them. He took an awkward selfie and posted it on Instagram.

 _At my girlfriend's house. First date tonight! Like, ever. I'm a little nervous._

He then went through and looked up all his friends on both Twitter and Instagram and began following them. "Gonna take me a bit to get the hang of this," he muttered.

He failed to notice that he already had over two hundred followers on both accounts.

* * *

"GIRLFRIEND?!" Chloé Bourgeois screeched. _"GIRLFRIEND?!"_ She stared in shock at her phone. "What trashy house is that?!"

Sabrina looked at the selfie and felt her blood turn to ice. She glanced at Chloé, dread creeping down her spine. "Umm..."

Chloé looked up at her, her eyes sharp and hard. "You know this house, don't you?"

"Y-yes," Sabrina said. "I—I think I do, anyway, I mean, I could be wrong, I don't know _for sure_ , I only—"

Chloé erupted to her feet and leaned into Sabrina's face. _"WHO?!"_

Sabrina gulped. "M-Marinette?"

Chloé took a step back. "I'm sorry. I did not just hear you say—"

A new post appeared.

 _She just came downstairs!_

It was a picture of a slightly surprised Marinette Dupain-Cheng in what was _absolutely_ a date outfit.

Chloé threw back her head and screamed like a wounded banshee.

* * *

Alya raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so not bugging her right now, but tomorrow? I'm hanging her up _by her toenails_ and demanding an explanation."

* * *

Nino smirked. "Dude. Nice."

* * *

"Huh. Adrien and Marinette are dating now," Ivan grunted.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Mylène said. "You know, I'm not surprised? I mean, any time I see them close together, I think they'd be really cute together, you know?"

"Hmm, I'm not good at that kind of thing," Ivan said. "But I guess so."

* * *

Marinette, now wearing a pleated black skirt with pink trim, dark pink tights, low-heeled black calf-high boots, a reddish-pink shirt, and a short black jacket, blinked at Adrien, her rouged cheeks glowing. "Did you...did you just take a picture?" she squeaked out.

"Yeah," Adrien said with a grin. "I'm just trying out Instagram for the first time, seemed like this was a good—"

Marinette let out a yelp. "You _posted that on Instagram?!_ "

Adrien's face fell. "Umm...was I not supposed to?" he asked. "I mean, I just thought that was what you're _supposed_ to do, so—"

Marinette sat down heavily and took a deep breath. "N-no, it's...it's okay," she said, taking out her phone and looking at it. She winced. "I just, umm...I sort of hoped maybe we'd be able to get through the first date without, well..." She played with her hair. "Without..."

"Without...?" Adrien prompted.

"Ah! I just mean..." Marinette swallowed. "I hoped, y'know, we'd get a chance to get used to the idea of dating, being seen together, before doing the...the whole thing...on Instagram and..." At Adrien's crestfallen look, she tossed her phone aside and shook her head frantically. "No, no! It's okay! Really! Don't be..." She took a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm just...I'm freaking out. It's me. I'm freaking out."

Adrien slid closer to her, schooling his face into gentle reassurance. "Marinette? _Why_ are you freaking out?"

Marinette looked up at him; her face _screamed_ 'are you kidding me?', and Adrien flinched back. "You, umm...you did see how many followers you already have, right?"

"Followers?" Adrien echoed. "N-no, I...I didn't check..." He pulled out his phone and opened his Instagram. After some fumbling, his jaw dropped. "What...?" He shook his head. "B-but _how?!_ "

"Welcome to the wonderful world of social media?" Marinette said with a shaky laugh and a sickly grimace.

Adrien sighed. "I'm sorry," he said.

"N-no...I'm sorry," Marinette said. "I...I panicked. This...this is fine. This is what kids our age do. And like you said, we'd be doing this sooner or later anyway. Probably better to get it out there now." She picked her own phone back up; she saw a new text, opened it, and winced.

 _Girl! You, me, tomorrow, spill session! Congrats by the way!_

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked.

Marinette put her phone away. "Alya knows," she said, rolling her eyes. She wiggled her knees absently back and forth, gripping them tightly with her hands. "So, umm...we've got some time to kill, umm..."

Sabine suddenly showed up again with a tray of cookies and two glasses of milk. "I thought you kids might enjoy a snack—oh! Marinette, you look so cute!" She set the tray down and stepped back, looking at both of them and smiling. "You _are_ adorable together!"

Both teens blushed.

"I simply have to get a picture of this," Sabine said, beaming. "Hey, I know! Marinette, can I see your phone for a second?"

"Umm...sure," Marinette said, handing over her phone.

"Okay, stand up," Sabine said. "Move closer...smile...!"

Adrien and Marinette posed and smiled (Marinette looking sheepish and Adrien looking bashful), Sabine took a picture, then gave them an impish smirk. "And...there."

Marinette paled. "Mama? What did you—"

Sabine handed the phone back and waved. "Have fun, kids!" She laughed as she wandered out of the room.

Marinette and Adrien looked at the phone. Marinette gasped. "Oh, Mama, you _didn't!_ "

Sabine had posted the picture on Marinette's Instagram.

"She did," Adrien said, shaking his head and laughing. He sat back down and helped himself to a cookie.

Marinette groaned as she sat down and did likewise. "I mean, if it was a _less embarrassing picture_ , maybe, but—"

"Heh, yeah," Adrien said. "We do look kinda goofy." He plucked Marinette's phone and looked at it again, then blinked. "Whoa, no way!"

"What?"

Adrien looked at Marinette, eyes wide. " _Jagged Stone_ commented on it!"

Marinette took her phone back, looked, and smiled. "Huh...yeah, I guess he did!" The third comment on the picture was indeed from Jagged Stone; it was loaded with encouragement and a hope that they'd be at his Friday night concert.

Adrien tilted his head. "I just mean...Jagged Stone's following you on Instagram?"

Marinette blushed. "Y-yeah," she said, dunking a cookie in milk and averting her gaze bashfully. "Well...I mean, I _did_ design an album cover for him, so..."

Adrien chuckled. "Now see, that's why you're more amazing than I'll ever be."

Marinette ducked her head and poked her fingers together. "N-no I'm not," she mewled.

Adrien shook his head and looked at his own phone, reading the comments on the photos he'd posted. He winced. "No, trust me, you really are," he said with a grimace. "You got an awesome comment from an awesome rock star. I'm getting...not so awesome comments from a lot of girls I don't even know."

Marinette cringed. "Y-yeah," she said. "That's kinda...kinda what I expected."

Adrien shrugged and sighed. "I guess it's about the same as all the fan mail I get," he said. "The stuff I actually see, anyway. I know Nathalie filters a lot of it."

"She'd have to," Marinette said without thinking. "Girls can get pretty weird about things like that."

"Oh?" Adrien asked with a teasing grin, raising an eyebrow.

Marinette blushed. "N-not that I'd ever—!" She coughed. "I mean, I was never a fan of Adrien _the model_ , I'd actually never noticed you until you started school, I just...I know how weird girls can get over celebrities..."

Adrien blinked. "Wow," he said. "That's...thank you."

Marinette's brow furrowed in confusion. "Huh? For what?"

Adrien smiled sincerely, and Marinette nearly melted. "For noticing me as a person first, not as a model. Really. That means a lot to me."

"Oh. Well. I. Um. I. Thank welcome? I mean, you're comewel. Come. Welcome you. I—"

Adrien crammed a cookie in her mouth. She nearly choked, then went cross-eyed as she squinted down at it. With a teasing smirk, Adrien snapped a picture.

Marinette spat out the cookie, coughing and pounding her chest. "Adrien Agreste, don't you _dare—_ "

"And posted!" Adrien said, laughing.

"AHHHHHH!"

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:**

Hey everyone! Thanks again for all the awesome reviews. I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this!

The next chapter might be a while because I have some other writing obligations to take care of and I plan to spend the next week to ten days working on that stuff. Sorry, but them's the breaks when you've got several dozen stories to juggle!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "PHOTOGENESIS"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

 **Chapter 4**

At the KIDZ+ TV studio, Alec Cataldi and Nadja Chamack stared in awe at their phones.

"Wow, kid doesn't waste any time," Alec said, shaking his head. "Less than two hours on Instagram and he's already dropped a bombshell on Paris _and_ embarrassed his new girlfriend."

Nadja Chamack shook her head and laughed. "Ah, to be young and silly," she said. "It's a bit strange though, that Adrien Agreste would suddenly be on social media. What with Gabriel being a notorious hardass and all."

"Yeah, there's a story here," Alec agreed. "But the story everyone's gonna care about is this girl. Who is she?"

"Oh, I know exactly who she is," Nadja said. "That's Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her mother and I are old friends. She babysits Manon a lot."

Alec blinked. "Wow, really? So she's just a normal girl with a normal life? Not a famous celebrity or—?"

"Just a normal girl," Nadja agreed. "Well, and an aspiring fashion designer. I've seen some of her work, she has talent."

"Hmm, that must be how they met." Alec stroked his chin. "So, this Marinette, what else do you know about her?"

"Well, she's the same age as Adrien, her parents own a successful boulangerie—Tom Dupain made that Eiffel Tower cake you all raved over, remember? And...hmm. There was something about she did something important for..."

"Jagged Stone," Alec said, looking up from his phone's browser. "She designed the cover of his last album, the one that knocked XY off the top."

"Huh, really? I didn't know that."

"We need to stay on top of this," Alec said. "This is big. Following this could be a huge boost for our ratings."

"You're right," Nadja said. She grimaced. "I just wish I didn't _know_ Marinette so well. It's going to make this awkward."

* * *

Ten minutes before the Gorilla was due to pick them up, Marinette went upstairs to touch up her makeup and calm her nerves, while Adrien visited the bathroom to use the facilities and freshen up.

Upstairs...

"Oh, Tikki, how can I do this?" Marinette moaned. "I'm going on a _date_ with _Adrien!_ "

Tikki rolled her eyes. "You've been getting along _just fine_ for the past couple of hours!" she said. "Why the sudden attack of nerves?"

"Because it's different!" Marinette insisted. "We're about to go out! Be seen! In public! On a da on a da on a da on a da on a da on a da on a da—"

Tikki facepalmed. "Just...stop. Just stop." She pinched Marinette, which snapped her out of it, then floated up to look her straight in the eyes. "You're Ladybug. You've jumped right off the top of the Eiffel Tower without hesitation! _You can handle going to a movie with a boy._ "

"B-but..." Marinette stammered.

"Butts are for sitting!" Tikki said harshly. "Yours is going to be sitting next to Adrien, and you're going to have a good time and enjoy yourself. And stop worrying!" She smiled reassuringly. "You're having a good time together, right?"

"W-well...yeah," Marinette said hesitantly.

"So you're going to have a good time together at the movie! What difference does it make if you're in public? You can _do this_."

"I can do this," Marinette repeated firmly. "I can do this. I can do this. I can do Adrien. I can do—" Her mind caught up with what she'd just said, and her entire head glowed red. "UWAAAH!"

Tikki groaned. "Yeah, not on the first date," she said in a deadpan tone.

"TIKKI!"

Downstairs...

"Adrien, are you freaking out?" Plagg asked.

Adrien kept studying every inch of his face in the mirror. "Little bit," he admitted.

"Why? She's your friend, you're going to a movie, it's nothing you haven't done before."

"B-but..." Adrien sighed. "It's different. This...this is a date. I've never done that before." He swallowed nervously. "A-and..." He blushed. "Did you see her? I mean, Marinette's always been one of the cutest girls in class, no question, but..." He ran a finger through one eyebrow, frowning. "She..."

"Oh, so you're giving up on Ladybug just like that?" Plagg asked teasingly.

"What? No!" Adrien insisted. "It's just..." He shook his head. "I...well..." He sighed again. "It's...this whole thing...and she looks _super_ cute today..." He slumped against the lavatory. "I dunno, Plagg. I'm just...nervous."

"Hmm." Plagg shook his head. "Teenagers. I'll never figure you out. Okay, so she's cute. And you're cute. You're both cute. Who gives a cheese? Just go to the movie with the girl and have a good time."

Adrien took a deep breath. "Yeah. You're right. I can do this. Piece of cake!" His phone vibrated; he pulled it out and checked it. "The Gorilla's on the way," he said. "Time to go."

Plagg returned to Adrien's jacket pocket; he stepped out into the living room to find Marinette standing there, rocking on her heels, a nervous smile plastered on her flushed face. "So, umm...ready to go?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Marinette said.

They headed downstairs, enduring much fussing-over from Marinette's parents; with a promise to behave, they walked outside to wait for the driver.

The second they left the boulangerie, a camera flash went off. The stunned teens found themselves facing two cameramen and a familiar reporter.

"What the—" Adrien managed to get out before a microphone was shoved in his face.

"Nadja Chamack! Don't be bemused, it's just the news!" the reporter greeted cheerfully. "We're here with an exclusive on Adrien Agreste and his girlfriend!"

"Umm..." Marinette said, staring like a deer in the headlights.

"This young lady who first appeared on Adrien's Instagram this afternoon is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, aspiring fashion designer and artist to the stars!" Nadja went on. "For those not in the know, she designed the cover of Jagged Stone's latest number one hit album! So! How did you two meet?"

"Uhh...we go to school together?" Adrien said, blinking. He frowned. "Madame Chamack, you know you're supposed to schedule interviews through my father's assistant—"

"Oh, who has time for all that?" Nadja said airily. "The news waits for no one!"

"And I'm pretty sure ambushing two teenagers in the street is illegal—"

Nadja made a kill sign to her cameraman, then leaned in. "Look, kid, you can talk to me now and let me have my scoop or you can spend all night ducking the paparazzi. Your choice."

"Umm...we'll probably be doing that _anyway_ ," Adrien pointed out.

"It's okay," Marinette interrupted, though her expression was not kind as she fixed hard, sharp blue eyes on Nadja. "Madame Chamack, I expected better from you," she said frostily. "Is this the example you want to set for Manon?"

Nadja flinched. "N-no, of course not," she said. "But I do have a job to do, and...and I'm sorry, but you two are...kinda really big news for KIDZ+..."

"And since you know me personally, you thought you could get away with this?" Marinette snapped impatiently.

"W-well..." Nadja had the good grace to look sheepish.

Marinette sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You can use the photos you took _and_ a short bio on me, provided you get my parents' permission first," she said. "If we catch you following us, you'll be sorry. I promise you that."

"A-alright."

"Anything about our date we think the world needs to know, we'll post it on Instagram," Marinette added.

"Of...of course."

"Also, my rates for babysitting Manon just doubled."

Nadja winced. "That...seems fair," she said.

The car pulled up then, and the Gorilla got out, exuding an aura of danger and menace.

"Our ride's here," Adrien said. "Let's go, Marinette."

Once the two teens were safely in the car and the Gorilla had pulled away from the boulangerie, Adrien turned a wide-eyed, impressed gaze on Marinette. "You are _crazy_ awesome," he breathed.

Marinette ducked her head, her face flaming. "W-what do you mean?" she squeaked.

"The way you handled Madame Chamack just now!" Adrien said. "I mean sure I've seen her get chewed out before, but nothing like _that!_ "

"O-oh," Marinette said. She frowned. "I don't like that she took advantage of me and my family like that, that's all," she said. "I mean, I...I kind of knew, y'know, when I agreed to all this, that we'd have to deal with reporters and stuff, but I thought it'd be a few days. I guess I didn't expect Madame Chamack to do what she just did."

"I'm not surprised," Adrien said sourly. "I saw the way she went after Monsieur D'Argencourt after he lost the election. Actually, I'm pretty sure her 'interview' is what triggered him turning into the Black Knight."

"Really?" Marinette asked.

Adrien scratched his cheek. "W-well, that's how it works, right? People get Akumatized when they're triggered by something? I mean that's what happened to Cheng Sifu, right? A-and Jackady, the one that went after my father."

"Oh. Yeah, right," Marinette agreed, nodding.

"It's just...he was already in a bad mood after he lost the election, but then Madame Chamack showed up and _really_ annoyed him."

 _*That'd do it alright.*_ "Well, still...I've been babysitting Manon for a while now and Madame Chamack and Mama are good friends," Marinette said. "I just can't believe she took advantage of that to get a hot scoop." She crossed her arms. "You think you know someone! Honestly!"

Adrien blinked at her. "Wow. You're really upset about this."

"I don't like dishonest people," Marinette said. "What she did may not be the same as lying, but it still isn't very honest."

"Yeah, I guess," Adrien said. "Still, you handled that like...like Ladybug fighting a villain!"

"Huh?" Marinette said, startled out of her brown study.

"I mean, the way you stared her down and...and you were so confident and...and amazing!" Adrien said.

"Oh..." Marinette blushed, looking away. "W-well...no, I just...I just got upset, that's all."

"Well, whatever you want to call it, this is just another thing I respect about you," Adrien said warmly.

"Th-thank you," Marinette squeaked. "S-so, umm...movie! What movie, I mean, what—"

"Movie?" Adrien blinked, brow furrowed. After a moment, he gasped in understanding. " _Merde!_ I didn't even...I mean..." He laughed sheepishly. "I honestly have no idea." He shook his head. "Good grief, we've spent all afternoon talking and we didn't even _plan this out_..."

"Y-yeah," Marinette agreed, giggling. "Maybe that should've been the _first_ thing we...heehee..." She knocked on the side of her head, poking her tongue out cutely, which made Adrien laugh as he pulled out his phone and looked up the cinema listings.

By the time they arrived at the cinema, they'd agreed on an American comedy that seemed interesting and starred a couple of actors they'd both seen in other things. Once they arrived and purchased their tickets, they barely had time to buy snacks and find seats. Fortunately, that meant they avoided attracting too much attention—the fact that the movie they were watching was mostly attended by university students and kids older than themselves didn't hurt.

Still, Marinette had been aware of more than a few glances stolen their way, and before the film started, a few pictures had been taken.

The movie had not been especially great, but it had been decent enough. Some of the humor was a bit more raunchy than either teen was comfortable with. By the time they left, both were feeling a little awkward.

"Umm...maybe for the next time, we plan ahead a little better," Adrien suggested as they left the cinema lobby.

"Yeah," Marinette agreed. "Still, it...it was nice just watching a movie together, even if it wasn't...really the kind of movie I care for."

"Yeah," Adrien agreed. "Maybe next time, we, umm...don't watch an American movie?"

Marinette giggled. "Yeah."

"Unless it's like, _Pacific Rim_ or something like that," Adrien added. "Because that was awesome."

"Ah! Yes, I saw that with Papa!" Marinette said enthusiastically. "It was good."

The Gorilla was already waiting for them; they got in the car and were driven back to the boulangerie. On the drive, they made somewhat awkward small talk and posted updates to Twitter and Instagram. When they arrived, the teens went upstairs to the residence, while the Gorilla planted himself firmly outside the front entrance.

Neither teen had missed the "idly passing by" people with cameras waving in their direction.

Sabine greeted them warmly upstairs and ushered them to the family's small table. "Did you two have a good time?" she asked.

"More or less," Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "We didn't really plan ahead so we picked a movie at random, and..." He trailed off.

"It wasn't the best choice," Marinette admitted. "We'll have to pick a better movie for next time."

"Aww, I'm sorry to hear that," Sabine said. "Well, I hope you didn't fill up too much on snacks, because we've got a lovely dinner planned!"

"Looking forward to it," Adrien said eagerly. Marinette giggled.

As they seated themselves at the table and Sabine began serving dinner, Tom looked at the two teens seriously. "So, Madame Chamack," he said.

Marinette grimaced. "She ambushed us when we left," she said. "I hope you weren't too hard on her."

Tom sighed. "No, we...we just asked her to be careful what she puts on the air and online. It just bothers me that she..."

"Took advantage of knowing us?" Marinette filled in. "Yeah, I...I told her off a little for that."

"We heard," Sabine said lightly. "We were standing just inside the door." She smiled. "You handled that very well, we're proud of you."

Marinette's ears burned. "Mama...!"

"This looks great, ma'am," Adrien said as Sabine finished serving everyone and seated herself.

"Thank you, Adrien," she said. "Of course, next time you have dinner with us, I'll have to get a list of your favorite foods so I'll be able to plan ahead."

Adrien ducked his head. "Oh, that's not necessary," he said. "I-I mean, I'm not that picky."

"So, are you two going out again tomorrow?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, but we haven't talked about that yet," Adrien said. "Marinette, is there anything special you want to do tomorrow?"

"H-huh? O-oh, umm...not really? I mean, anything's fine, I just...I mean, even just hanging out..." She poked her fingertips together. "Video games or, or the park, or...anything!"

Adrien smiled. "I think we can handle anything," he said easily.

For the rest of the meal, Tom and Sabine asked Adrien questions about himself. Adrien spoke of his home life, trying to soften the rougher edges of what life as the son of Gabriel Agreste was like. He talked about his extra lessons and modeling, but avoided saying much about his mother except that nobody was certain what had happened to her. In turn, Adrien learned more about the Dupain-Cheng family and Marinette, including some embarrassing stories he was sure Marinette would be taking her parents to task for in private later, judging by her tomato-red face and spluttered protests.

Once dinner was finished, Marinette walked Adrien downstairs. "Umm...I had a nice time with you today," she said.

Adrien smiled. "Me too," he said. "You know, I..." His cheeks turned faintly pink. "I, umm...I'm glad I'm getting to spend more time with you. And..." He ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Even if this whole thing is, y'know, what it is..." He gave her a coy glance, then ducked his eyes away. "I kinda like the idea of going on dates with you." He glanced up at her, seeing her face flush. "Umm...is that okay?" he added hesitantly.

Marinette nodded rapidly. "Y-yes!" she said. "Yes, that's great! You dating me is great! I like it too! Yes!"

Adrien smiled, then took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Well then, My Lady," he said. "Until tomorrow?" And with that, he left.

Marinette sank bonelessly to the floor, a breathy sigh floating out of her lungs.

From the stairs, Tom and Sabine watched, smiling affectionately.

* * *

Adrien found himself lost in a blissful, peaceful limbo on the drive home, riding a wave of excitement and contentment as he posted a status update.

 _Headed home from pretty good first date. Movie sucked, but dinner with Marinette & her parents was great. Tired, more later._

The house was empty when he arrived; he went straight to his room, kicking off his shoes and shedding his jacket. He was just about to start undressing for a shower before bed when his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and grimaced, but pressed the green answer pad. "Hello?"

 _"ADRICHOU! WHAT IS THIS GARBAGE ABOUT YOU DATING THAT MARITRASH?!"_

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes:**

Hi again, everyone! Sorry it took so long to get back to this. Between gaming, real-life drama (short version, I was sick most of May and my dog died), and work on my main set of stories, this just kinda slipped between the cracks for a while.

Thanks for all your awesome reviews! Quick replies to a select few:

Web2theweb1: Yeah hi, so I replied directly to your request when you made it in your review of chapter 3, but I guess you didn't read that or something, so...please don't ask authors to privately and personally e-mail you when they post new chapters, mmkay? There's a button on literally every chapter page on this site that says "Follow/Favorite" and lets you follow a story (you automatically get a notification when a new chapter is posted). Try clicking that and see what happens. ^_-

Tiger Priestess: I know, right? So few _good_ comedy movies come out anymore. They all either rely on gross humor, sex humor, or race humor. I miss genuinely funny movies like _Oscar_ or _Rat Race_.

Z. Bridgett: It was "Darkblade" in the English version and "Le Chevalier Noir" (The Black Knight) in the French version. You'll find that in most instances I defer to the French names for things, with the exception of Hawk Moth (which sounds better than The Butterfly) and Copycat. Please don't "correct" writers who use the French names of Akumatized. ^^;;

Enjoy!

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "PHOTOGENESIS"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

 **Chapter 5**

 _"ADRICHOU! WHAT IS THIS GARBAGE ABOUT YOU DATING THAT MARITRASH?!"_

Adrien winced at the screeching, pulling his phone slightly away from his ear. "Hello, Chloé," he said tiredly.

 _"How can you possibly be dating that dirty trash girl? It's all a lie, right? Or...or it's a supervillain! A supervillain is brainwashing you and Ladybug hasn't—"_

"It's no lie," Adrien said. "I'm dating Marinette. I just got home from our first date. We had a good time."

He pulled his phone away from his ear again as Chloé shrieked. When she began forming words again, he listened, his face twisting into a distasteful frown.

 _"ABSOLUTELY NOT! I FORBID IT! You are MY Adrichou! You do not belong to anyone else, and ABSOLUTELY **NOT** to that FILTHY PEASANT! I don't know how she did this to you, but I'll have my daddy—"_

 **"That's** _ **enough**_ **, Chloé."** Adrien's jaw set firmly as he straightened up, his posture becoming combative; if he were Chat Noir presently, his tail would be low and lashing. "You know...ever since I started coming to school, I've seen you badmouth just about everybody, and I'm tired of it. But the way you treat Marinette is the absolute worst. Just what did she ever do to you?"

Chloé scoffed theatrically. _"What? What did she DO? Hmph! It's bad enough simply that she exists, and—"_

"That's not an answer, Chloé," Adrien interrupted. "What. Did. She. Actually. _Do._ _To._ _**YOU?**_ " He paused. "And don't try to lie to me. I'll know."

There was a long pause. _"W-well! She's done so much! It's hard to say any one thing! She just...and then she...and there was the time—"_

"So in other words, nothing," Adrien said. "She's never done anything to you, and you just hate her because—"

 _"NON!"_ Chloé barked. Adrien could practically hear her stamping her foot. _"I hate her because she's a disrespectful common peasant girl!"_

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Hate to break it to you, Chloé, but being rich doesn't make you better than other people."

 _"But it DOES!"_

"No, it really doesn't," Adrien said firmly. "My father is just as rich and powerful as yours, and I don't think I'm better than anyone."

Another pause. _"W-well...it's because you're just too...too good for..."_

"I'm going to ask again," Adrien said resignedly. "Why, _exactly_ , do you hate Marinette so much?"

Chloé was quiet so long Adrien almost thought the call dropped. Then, in an uncertain tone:

 _"I just do, okay?"_

Adrien's frown deepened. "Then you're stupid," he said. "Marinette is one of the nicest, most amazing people I've ever met, and everybody knows it. I had a good time with her today and I'm looking forward to hanging out with her again tomorrow."

 _"But—!"_

"But what?" Adrien asked, exasperated.

 _"But...but you're **my** Adrichou..."_

"No, Chloé, I'm not," Adrien said. "We're just friends. We've never been more than that. I don't mind still being friends with you, but you need to get it through your head that I'm just not...that what you want me to be, that's never going to happen." He took a deep breath. "Goodnight, Chloé." And with that, he hung up.

Plagg, who had been watching him the whole time, frowned. "Well, I know which Akumatized we'll be fighting tomorrow," he said.

Adrien sighed, hanging his head, his eyes closed. "I hope not," he said. "I just hope...that was the right thing to do. I hated doing that, but—"

"That Chloé girl is a brat," Plagg said, rolling his eyes. "Everyone hates her except her father. And that Sabrina girl, but she's not right in the head."

"I don't _hate_ Chloé," Adrien protested. "I just...I wish she wasn't such a hateful, self-absorbed pest." He returned to undressing for his shower. "It makes it hard to still be friends with her, that attitude."

"So just stop being friends with her," Plagg suggested.

Adrien glanced at him. "I can't do that," he said. "Not unless she does something I can't forgive."

"And you can forgive her calling your girlfriend trash?"

Adrien found he had no response to that, so he shook his head and walked into the bathroom.

* * *

Marinette's night was full of blissful dreams of her and Adrien.

When she woke up on Sunday morning, her phone was going crazy. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the massive number of notifications.

Overnight, she had picked up an insane number of followers on Twitter and Instagram.

As she read comments on her most recent updates, it became clear that quite a few of them were hate-follows.

 _You don't deserve him!_

 _Who even are you? Die already!_

 _LMFAO you wear your hair like Ladybug, what a dork_

Marinette whimpered as she read page after page of hate tweets. Tikki hovered next to her, patting her shoulder in sympathy. "Cheer up," she said. "They're not _all_ bad! Look!"

True, some of the comments were more supportive...

 _OMG they're so cute together!_

 _Love your outfit, where'd you get it? How much was it?_

 _Cutest. Girlfriend. EVER!_

 _You did Jagged Stone's album cover! No way! Awesome!_

 _Wow, you must get confused for Ladybug all the time!_

And then there were comments of the type she didn't expect at all...

 _You're so hot!_

 _You're too cute for that stupid pretty-boy!_

 _Wanna dump that guy & be my GF? I'm way cooler!_

 _Post naked pics pls?_

Marinette gave that last comment a half-lidded glare and wordlessly blocked the poster. "Greeeeeat," she drawled as she flopped back onto her bed, twirling a finger in the air.

Tikki giggled. "Well you _are_ pretty cute," she said. "You have to expect things like that from immature boys!"

There was a knock on the loft door. Before Marinette could even answer, it opened. She peered over the edge of her bed loft to see Alya's wild bush of red hair flounce into view. Groaning, she dragged herself down to the lower level of her bedroom while Tikki disappeared under her bed. "Hey Alya," Marinette said.

"Hey girl!" Alya said cheerfully, holding up a paper bag and two cups of coffee. "Brought breakfast! Oh, don't worry, I totes got the pastries from your dad downstairs."

Marinette smiled. "Thanks," she said, sitting down and accepting a coffee and a pastry from Alya.

Alya sat across from her, leaning forward. "So? _SPILL!_ "

"What, my coffee?" Marinette said. "But I haven't even—"

Alya groaned. " _No,_ space cadet! _You and Adrien!_ "

Marinette nearly did spill her coffee. "Me and Adrien..." She sighed dreamily.

Alya facepalmed. "Yes, you and Adrien. Now, wanna tell me the deets?"

Marinette blinked, shook her head, and deflated. "Y-yeah...the deets..." She sighed. "W-well..." She coughed, then took a sip of her coffee. "The thing is..."

"The thing is?" Alya asked.

"The thing is..." Marinette began again. "We...got together yesterday...? And...well...we got together yesterday!" She giggled nervously.

Alya raised an eyebrow. "Uh- _huh_ ," she said. "At the exact same time Adrien Agreste _finally_ shows up on Twitter and Instagram, and his first posts are about _you_. There's more to this. C'mon!"

Marinette paled. "W-well..." She tugged at the collar of her pajama top. As Alya leaned forward, eyes narrowed insistently, Marinette sighed. "Okay, but...swear to secrecy, alright?"

"Scout's honor!" Alya agreed.

"And I really mean it this time," Marinette added.

Alya drew back in mock offense, placing a hand to her chest. "Moi? Break a pact of secrecy with my best friend?" She leaned forward, gripping her knees. "Come _on_ , girlfriend! Quit stalling!"

Marinette gulped. "O-okay." She took a deep breath. "The truth is...this whole thing is kind of...arranged."

Alya blinked. "Arranged? You mean like a marriage?"

Marinette let out a squawk. "N-no! I mean yes! I mean..." She sighed. "Adrien's dad wants him to be more of a normal teenager for, y'know, publicity reasons. And that includes dating. So he made that assistant of his choose a girlfriend for Adrien, and she chose me."

Alya's eyes widened. "Get out," she said.

"It's true," Marinette said.

"So you're fake-dating?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean...not exactly? I don't know!" Marinette said, flustered. "I mean, it's a setup, Monsieur Agreste is behind the whole thing, but..." She blushed. "Things went...really well last night, and...and I think maybe..." She poked her fingertips together. "Maybe it'll actually go somewhere?"

Alya rolled her eyes and smirked. "Well, the more time he spends with you, the more likely it is he'll either fall in love with you or realize you're a total psycho," she said.

"ALYA!"

Alya laughed. "But seriously," she said, "even if this whole thing is some publicity thing, I don't think Adrien was faking what he posted on Instagram. I think he's definitely interested." She smiled. "So whatever you did yesterday, keep doing it and he'll be all yours!"

"I...I hope so," Marinette said, a silly smile spreading across her blushing face.

* * *

A dark place...

Shutters irised open, flooding the dark room with the brilliant early morning sun. White butterflies swarmed around a masked figure standing in the light.

"Ah, but what is this?" Hawk Moth said softly, eyes wide in cold wonder, a vicious smirk on his face. "A plague of jealousy, sweeping across Paris like a fire...!"

A white butterfly landed in his gloved palm.

"I wonder..." Hawk Moth mused. "It is unusual to be sure...but perhaps..."

He covered the butterfly with his other hand. Motes of darkness gathered, turning it a purple-splotched black.

"Fly away, my little Akuma, and spread this disease of the heart!" Hawk Moth watched the Akuma flutter through the central gap in the window's wrought iron butterfly motif.

* * *

Marinette spent half an hour telling Alya all about her first date with Adrien, gushing in some places, stammering in others. "So then we had dinner here with my folks, and...!" Marinette sighed dreamily. "Today we're just gonna do whatever we feel like doing." She paused. Her eyes widened. "I have no idea what to wear today."

"So just wear something casual," Alya said with a shrug. "I'm pretty sure the boy won't dress up either."

"I dunno, he did yesterday," Marinette said doubtfully. "Come on, let's raid my closet." Just then, her phone rang. She rummaged around for it, grabbed it, and juggled it. "It's him!"

"So answer!"

Taking a deep breath, Marinette answered. "Adrien! Good morning!"

 _"Hey. It's not too early, is it?"_

"Oh, no! No, not at all! I'm just sitting here with Alya, you know, girl talk..."

 _"Oh. Should I call back later?"_

"No! No, now's fine! Actually, now's perfect timing, because we were just about to hit my closet. What are you planning to wear today?"

A pause. _"Huh. I hadn't even thought about it. I mean, I thought we were just gonna hang out and stuff today, so...what I usually wear, I guess?"_

"That'll be fine," Marinette said. "I mean, you look fine in anything! I mean...yeah, I'll just go casual too."

"Smooth," Alya said with a smirk.

 _"Right, so...I'll be over there in about...oh, half an hour?"_

"Can't wait!" Marinette said. "See you in half an hour!"

She froze, the phone still against her ear.

 _"Okay...so...hanging up now."_

"Uh-huh!" Marinette paused. "Oh! Right, hanging up...and he already did." She dropped her phone and bowed her head. "Yeah, I've still got issues," she moaned.

Alya snickered. "Something tells me you'll always have issues," she said. She frowned. "Half an hour...that doesn't give you a whole lot of time to put yourself together."

"You're right," Marinette said, eyes wide. "Oh my god, I'm a disaster! I need to...and...and hair, and...and I stink, and...ahhh!" She clawed at her hair.

"Chill, girl!" Alya said, laughing. "You don't smell too bad, and your hair's as shiny as ever. Besides, you don't have time for the whole treatment, right?"

Marinette sighed, giving herself a sniff test. "You're right," she said. "I can get by on a quick shower. Pits, tits, and naughty bits."

Alya snickered. "While you're doing that, I think I'll put out a few fires online."

"Fires?" Marinette asked.

"You know, these obnoxious pests on yours and Adrien's Instagram and Twitter," Alya clarified. "Better your BFF goes on the attack so you can keep your nose clean, right?"

Marinette groaned. "They're not worth your time, those pests," she said.

"I know, but I'm bored anyway," Alya said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Now go! You're running out of time!"

"EEP!" Marinette grabbed some clean underwear from her dresser and scrambled out of the room. Alya rolled her eyes.

* * *

Marinette's idea of "casual" turned out to be black heels, boot-cut black jeans, a pink blouse tied off at the midriff, and a black bolero hat with a pinkish-red satin sash. Alya raised an eyebrow at her. "What, are you going to Spain for this date?"

Marinette blushed. "We're gonna be all over Instagram! I don't want to wear the same old thing when I'm out with Adrien! Besides, this is my chance to get some of my fashions some exposure, right?"

Alya blinked. "I'm surprised you actually managed to think of that with the haze of dating Adrien fogging up your brain."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Alya! I don't become _completely_ nonfunctional around Adrien! ...anymore..."

Alya snickered. "Okay okay. Anyway, you look super-cute. Not sure those shoes go with that outfit, but..."

Marinette looked at herself in the mirror, then frowned. "Yeah, and we're probably gonna do a lot of walking around town or..." She shook her head, kicked off the heels, returned them to her closet, frowned, then put them back on. "Who am I kidding, Adrien has a driver!"

Alya shook her head. "Okay, it's your feet, not mine."

"Oh, what do you know, miss only-wears-hi-tops—"

 _"MARINETTE! ADRIEN'S HERE!"_

"Crap!" Marinette made shooing motions to Alya. "Stall for me while I finish getting ready!"

"This isn't finished?"

"Just...just go downstairs first, okay?" Marinette said, waving her hands around.

"Okay, okay." Alya chuckled and descended into the house proper.

Tikki flew down from the loft bed. "Wow, Marinette!"

"Is this too much?" Marinette asked.

"Not at all! Especially right around the middle," Tikki teased.

Marinette rolled her eyes and opened her purse; Tikki zipped inside, and Marinette slung it over her shoulder. "That reminds me, I need a couple of extra purses," she mused thoughtfully as she headed downstairs.

When she arrived in the living room, she saw Adrien and Alya talking. Adrien was dressed in the same style of casual clothes he usually wore to school; as Marinette made her entrance, he looked up at her and his eyes widened.

"Umm...sorry to keep you waiting," Marinette said. "I'm ready now."

"Wow," Adrien said. He pulled out his phone and held it up. "Umm...?"

"Snap away," Marinette said, striking a pose. Alya snickered as Adrien took a few pictures, then picked the best one to post to Instagram.

 _Whoa, that's a good look._

 _So cute!_

 _Love the hat, so chic!_

 _This girl really loves pink and black, doesn't she?_

 _Hope the little bitch breaks a heel_

"So, what do you want to do today?" Adrien asked as he put his phone away.

"Oh, you know...whatever," Marinette said. "I mean, let's just see where the day takes us?"

"Sounds good to me," Adrien said.

"Well, you two have fun," Alya said. "Me, I've got a pack of brats who want to go to the zoo, and I've gotten out of it long enough." She shuddered. "I swear to God if Mama didn't pester me about taking them I'd _never_ go back there."

The other teens couldn't help but wince. "Yeah, I don't blame you," Adrien said. "I heard from Nino that you were in the other bushes that day and, umm...the thing about getting locked in a cage when everything went crazy."

"Yeah, that was not my favorite day at the zoo," Alya huffed. "And if I'd known it was Nino who was trying to get together with Marinette that day, we'd never have even gone. I mean, she only went there because of _you_ , you know?"

Adrien blinked. "Me?"

"Duh," Alya said, rolling her eyes. At Marinette's mortified stare, she snorted. "What? Best to let _all_ the cats out of the bag if you two are really gonna do this thing."

Marinette sighed. "Yeah...you're right."

"Huh," Adrien said awkwardly. "Well now I feel like an idiot."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Alya said. "If this girl here could be half as assertive with you as she is with Chloé, it wouldn't have taken _this_ long for the two of you to start dating." She shook her head. "Well, I'm off. Have fun!"

"Goodbye, Alya," Marinette said in an overly-syrupy voice that carried an undertone of "you're gonna get it later". Once she was gone, Marinette blew on her bangs. "Pest."

"So, uhh..." Adrien began slowly. "You look...really cute today."

"Really?" Marinette asked, her cheeks heating up. "Thank you! I just, umm, well..." She coughed. "Since we're supposed to be seen and everything, I wanted to, y'know, change up my look each time we go out, kinda..."

"Showcase your sense of style?" Adrien finished. "Smart plan." He stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets. "So, pretty much anything goes," he said. "I mean, if you can think of anything in particular you'd like to do."

"Honestly, I have no idea what I want to do," Marinette said. Then, her cheeks flushing, she added, "Really, as long as I'm spending the day with you, that's enough for me."

"Oh," Adrien said, his own cheeks coloring. "Well." He rubbed his chin. "Actually, there _is_ something I kinda wanted to check out, but...I dunno." He scratched the back of his neck. "You might think it's kinda dorky or..."

"What is it?" Marinette asked.

"Well...there's this toy museum that just opened up," Adrien said. "I've heard they inherited entire collections from this Japanese toy museum that closed down. They have toys from when our parents were kids, and even toys from way before we were born! I just..." He shrugged. "I think it'd be kinda neat to have a look at. I mean...y'know?"

"A toy museum, huh?" Marinette asked. "Sure, why not?"

"Really? You don't mind?"

Marinette shook her head. "Who knows what we'll see there? It won't be boring, that's for sure!"

"Great!" Adrien said. "The car's downstairs, let's get going."

They headed downstairs, bidding goodbye to Marinette's parents, and got into the car. Adrien told the Gorilla where they were headed; as he pulled away from the curb, he turned on the radio. An obnoxious American pop song blared from the speakers, the Gorilla bobbing his head along to it.

 _Chop, chop, chop, chop away at my heart!_

"Ugh, this song," Marinette grumbled. "You hear it _everywhere_ now."

"Yeah, it's..." Adrien frowned. "Well, it's not as bad as XY. I mean, at least it's catchy."

Marinette pursed her lips. "I guess," she said. She pulled out her phone and sent out a quick tweet. _Spending the day with Adrien. Will take pics of anything cool._

Adrien, likewise, took his own phone out. _Gonna check out the toy museum with Marinette. Been looking forward to seeing it!_ He glanced over at Marinette. "So, uhh..." He coughed. "Is your Instagram as weird as mine? Because mine's been pretty weird."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm getting some pretty weird comments," she said. "A lot of people think we look cute together, at least." She blushed. "So...I guess that part is working?"

"Heh, yeah," Adrien agreed. He looked at Marinette for a long moment. "Umm. Wow. I, uhh...I had no idea you were so... _toned_."

"Eh?" Marinette followed his gaze, then blushed. "Oh." She coughed. "Umm. Thanks?"

"Ah! I didn't mean to sound pervy or anything!" Adrien insisted, holding up his hands. "I just, I mean—"

"It's okay!" Marinette insisted. "I mean, I chose this outfit, I wouldn't have worn this if...if I minded anyone seeing my, umm...tummy..." She fanned herself with her hat. "Whoo. Is the air conditioning broken or something?"

Up front, the Gorilla grunted.

* * *

In a bedroom plastered with posters, magazine covers, and photos of Adrien Agreste, a girl with long red hair sat in front of her computer, angrily and furiously typing in multiple social media profiles, chatrooms, and message boards. Her bare feet swung in the air in time with her typing. Strands of hair fell across her face; she reached up and brushed them away, then paused in her typing to take her round-rimmed glasses off and clean them. As she cleaned her glasses, a dark butterfly fluttered through her window, settling on the edge of her keyboard and sinking into it, enveloping it in an oily purple mist. When she put her glasses back on, she reached out to type again...and stiffened as a dark, butterfly-shaped shadow spread across her face. A pink hologram, also in the shape of a butterfly, framed her eyes.

 _ **Viral. I am Hawk Moth. You command a powerful army, an army of jealous girls clamoring to possess the boy of their dreams. I grant you the power to spread your jealousy and spite beyond the confines of the Internet, into the real world. Use this power! Marshal your forces! Bring me the Miraculous, Ladybug's earrings, Chat Noir's ring!**_

Viral's lips curved into a wicked smile as her glasses lit up with an otherworldly gleam.

"We'll DDoS this Marinette into the ground," she said as purple fog boiled over her body, transforming her...

* * *

Fortunately for both teens, the car soon pulled up in front of the toy museum. The Gorilla remained in the car as they got out and headed up to the building. It was a newer addition to Paris' collection of galleries and museums, and had been built in its own distinctive style. Tall and cylindrical, the lower floors of the museum were painted a bright, cheerful red, with a brass plaque above the automatic metal doors engraved with the museum's name. A large, ornamental chrome crank knob was mounted beneath the plaque. The upper two floors were slightly wider than the lower floors, with bay windows all the way around, offering a look into the bright, colorful interior. The roof was yellow and domed.

Adrien and Marinette stared at the building. "It's..." Marinette began. "It's a giant capsule machine? You know, the kind you get cheap toys out of?"

Adrien laughed. "Yeah, it totally is!" He shook his head. "You gotta admit that's pretty clever."

Marinette giggled. "Well, it's certainly creative. Makes me curious what the inside looks like!"

"Well, let's find out," Adrien said, offering his arm. Marinette blushed and linked hers through, and they headed for the doors. Just inside the door, a bored-looking attendant sat behind a desk. As Adrien paid the admission, the attendant handed them a pair of red lanyards with the date printed on attached tags.

"Photography and video are permitted, selfie sticks are prohibited," the attendant said. "If you leave and come back, make sure you have your lanyard. Food and drinks are prohibited. No running or touching the exhibits. There are guided tours every thirty minutes, the line is over to the right. You can also explore on your own. Enjoy your visit."

"What do you say, Marinette?" Adrien asked as they walked past the desk and into the main floor. "Wanna take the tour?"

"Sure, if it's starting soon." They glanced over at a group which seemed to be mostly composed of grandparents and young children, with a few young adults in the mix, milling around in an area marked for group tours. A display above the group indicated the next tour would begin in five minutes. They joined the waiting group; just under five minutes later, Théo Barbot rushed up, an employee badge clipped to his shirt, and smiled at the group.

"Good morning!" he said. "Who's ready for a look into the history of toys?" Without paying any heed to the general audience response, he clapped his hands. "Follow me, keep close together, there's a lot to see. You can split off from the tour if you want to look around on your own, of course, but you'll learn a lot more if you stick with the group!"

"Does a little bit of everything, doesn't he?" Adrien whispered to Marinette as the tour followed Théo. Marinette giggled.

The first exhibit they stopped at drew a lot of excited whispers from the boys in the group. Rows of toy robots, cars, planes, and other vehicles made of plastic and die-cast metal were lined up on risers behind plexiglass. "We like to start the tour with a little trip to the first line of Transformers," Théo said. "Everything you see here is from Generation 1, when the toys were still made partly from die-cast metal. An entire generation of kids grew up with classic characters such as Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, and Starscream in their original incarnations, which you see here.

"What some of you who grew up with more modern Transformers may not know is that the original Transformers weren't very poseable at all. A lot of them only had a few moving joints in robot form, and the toymaking technology of the time limited the amount of detail that could go into a toy's sculpt. That's why unlike today's toys, which have fine details painted and tampographed on by factory robots, these classic Transformers came with sticker sheets that kids would have to put on the toy themselves." He chuckled. "This led to a lot of Transformers with crooked stickers, missing stickers, or stickers put on in weird places." The tour group laughed along with him. "Our collection, of course, is curated from toys in as near mint condition as possible, with the stickers applied precisely."

"A lot of them look like plastic bricks," Marinette whispered to Adrien.

"Yeah, they kinda do," Adrien agreed.

"This, of course, is only our first look into toys of the eighties," Théo said, leading the group on to the next exhibit, which was full of action figures that seemed to be from several completely different toy lines. "The eighties had a heavy emphasis on action toys aimed at boys, especially in America, which is where most of these are from." There were some snorts in the group. "Toy lines like He-Man and G.I. Joe were big sellers, and later in the decade, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles took off." He looked over the group. "Now, our next exhibit is something truly special. We'll leave all these war and fighting toys behind for something more simple and family-friendly from the good ol' 1950s!" He led the group along rows of displays full of colorful, sometimes gaudy, toys, to a partitioned-off display in which a recording was playing on a loop. It was an old black-and-white show from sixty years in the past, performed with puppets on strings.

Inside the display cases in this area were a variety of toys and related merchandise that all revolved around a cowboy doll made of wood and cloth, a matching cowgirl doll, a toy horse, and an overstuffed old prospector. The banner over the display read "WOODY'S ROUNDUP".

"We were lucky to come across this collection," Théo said. "Toy museums have been trying to assemble a complete Woody's Roundup collection for decades, and the Japanese museum whose exhibits we inherited only just managed to finally complete the set before they were forced to close."

The tour moved on, through decades of toys ranging from classic wooden ball-and-cup toys to an extensive collection of Barbie dolls through the ages to an assortment of old board games, and even an exhibition of old video game consoles from the late seventies and early eighties, accompanied by a detailed lesson on the crash of the video game industry. "You wouldn't know it from how popular gaming is today," Théo said, "but there was a time, more than thirty years ago, when it looked like video games were a fad that was about to die out..."

"Wow, lucky for us that didn't happen, huh?" Adrien commented aside to Marinette, who giggled.

All told, the tour took a little over an hour, at the end of which Marinette's feet were killing her. They found a place to sit and rest; Marinette took her shoes off and rubbed her feet, wincing. "I don't see how women like Mademoiselle Sancoeur do this all day long," she complained.

Adrien winced. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have suggested someplace with this much walking."

"Nono, it's my bad," Marinette said, waving him off. "Alya told me not to wear heels, but would I listen?" She shook her head. "I just forgot how hard it is to put up with these if you're not used to it."

"Tell me about it," Adrien said ruefully. At Marinette's confused expression, he recoiled slightly, then stammered, "Uhh—I mean, back when Reflekta attacked our school, yeah? I got hit just like everybody else. Had to spend most of the day in those awful heels."

"Oh yeah," Marinette said, nodding. "I forgot about that. That was...that was just _weird_."

Once Marinette had her shoes back on, Adrien glanced at the time on his phone. "I think we've seen enough here," he said. "Wanna find someplace for an early lunch?"

"Sounds great," Marinette said.

* * *

In numerous chat rooms and online forums, as well as on Twitter and Instagram...

 _Marinette must pay. Who does she think she is?_

 _This nobody girl doesn't deserve Adrien any more than any of us!_

 _We can't allow Adrien to be monopolized by one trash girl._

It was typical Internet shitposting, ignored by many, rebutted angrily by some. Agreed with by far too many.

Those who argued with "Viral" soon found their computers and phones frozen and unresponsive. Those who agreed with her...

...transformed into an army of blanks, wearing skintight black latex, their faces replaced by angry face emojis. They left their homes, their churches, their social gatherings...wherever they were, they simply got up and left, taking to the streets, awaiting the orders of their queen.

 _Find Marinette. Destroy her. If you see Ladybug or Chat Noir, take their Miraculous!_

* * *

Adrien and Marinette sat at an outdoor table at a small, upscale bistro. As they waited for their food, Marinette commented, "School's going to be interesting tomorrow."

"Yeah," Adrien agreed. With a grimace, he added, "Actually...there's something I should probably tell you. I mean, I don't wanna ruin our good time, but...it's kind of important."

"What is it?" Marinette asked.

Adrien sighed. "Chloé called me last night to scream at me about dating you," he said. "I got into this huge fight with her. I...have no idea what tomorrow's gonna be like, when we're in the same room with her together."

Marinette groaned. "Ugh, Chloé." She sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"You don't have anything to apologize for," Adrien said sourly. "It's her. I mean, that attitude." He stirred his tea. "I don't understand why she's like that. I especially don't understand what she has against you." He took a sip of tea, then added, "I asked her what her problem with you is. She couldn't say."

Marinette pressed her lips together. "I have no idea what her deal is," she said. "She's just been a nasty little pest ever since we first met. I don't think I ever _did_ anything to her."

"I don't think you did either, honestly," Adrien said in a resigned tone. "Anyway, enough about Chloé. Let's—" Their food was brought to their table. "Hmm. It's normal to tweet about this kind of thing, right? What you're eating, where you're eating?"

Marinette shrugged. "Sure, some people do." She pulled out her own phone even as Adrien pulled his out. "I guess we could—" She paused, her eyes widening as she scanned her notifications. "Oh my god," she moaned.

"What's up, Marinette?" Adrien asked. He checked his own notifications, and his brows drew down in anger. "What the hell—?!"

Marinette's head drooped. "Why," she moaned.

"This is wrong," Adrien said darkly. "This is absolutely wrong." He rapidly typed a furious tweet.

 _All of you, CUT IT OUT. This is sick and wrong. Viral, whoever you are, I'm blocking you._

As soon as he sent the tweet, his phone locked up. He blinked. "Uhh...what?"

"What's wrong?" Marinette asked fearfully.

"My phone froze," Adrien muttered. He tried to restart it, then shook his head. "It's completely locked up!"

"Take the battery out," Marinette suggested. "Sometimes that's all you can—"

A hail of forks embedded themselves in the table in front of Marinette, one piercing the brim of her hat. She stared up at it, cross-eyed.

Adrien shot to his feet. "What on Earth?!"

A woman in skintight black latex with an angry-face emoji where her face should be melted out of the bistro, hands full of cutlery. She hurled it at Marinette, who rolled out of the way and came up in a crouch, eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me it's an Akuma attack," she muttered.

 _"Marinette Dupain-Cheng,"_ Emoji-Face said in a distorted, synthetic voice. _"Viral wants you to disappear. You will not live to see another sunrise."_

Adrien's jaw tightened. "Viral," he growled. "So this is just..." He shook his head. "Go home, lady. Stop this nonsense. This is disgusting."

"Umm, Adrien?" Marinette said tentatively, touching his shoulder. "I don't think _any of them_ are in a listening mood."

Adrien looked around. More emoji-faced women in latex approached from every direction, carrying all manner of weapons. He swallowed. "Okay, so...either this is the most with-it flash mob ever, or..."

"Akuma attack," Marinette said. "That's probably why your phone locked up."

Adrien sighed. "Dammit, why...?"

"Right now, I think we need to _RUN!_ " Marinette shouted, grabbing Adrien's wrist and yanking sharply as the Emoji-Faces charged angrily, shouting death threats and insults. They ducked into the bistro, juked through the kitchens, and hid in the staff locker room. They doubled over, panting for breath.

"Okay, so...now what?" Adrien asked.

"Umm..." Marinette hemmed. "I'll call for help, since your phone is on the fritz. Oh, and...I think I'll go hide in the little girls' room. I...kinda need to pee anyway."

Adrien stared at her. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"Just stay here until help arrives," Marinette said, peering around the door frame. "If this _is_ an Akuma attack, Ladybug and Chat Noir should be here soon, non?" She ducked back out into the kitchen and disappeared in a flash.

Adrien slumped against a locker and sighed. "Today was going so well, too..."

Plagg flew out of his pocket. "So your date got interrupted by Hawk Moth. Look on the bright side, you'll get to see Ladybug today!"

"Yeah, but this happened because..." Adrien sighed. "Nevermind. **Plagg, claws out!** " The ring on Adrien's finger turned black as Plagg disappeared into it. Adrien's eyes turned from their usual sparkling green into the vivid, luminescent green eyes of a cat as the black leather catsuit, ears, mask, and tail of Chat Noir formed on his body. Mouth set in a grim line, Chat Noir slipped outside and through the bistro's service entrance, ninja-jumping his way up to the roof.

* * *

In the toilet, Marinette sighed. "I'm finally dating Adrien and it just _had_ to turn into _this_."

Tikki phased out of her purse, eyes sad. "Marinette..."

"If this Viral turns out to be Chloé, I swear I'll...!" Marinette clenched a fist which trembled with rage. **"Tikki, spots on!"** Tikki vanished into the Miraculous, which turned from black to a bright red with black spots. Marinette's clothes were replaced by the bright red, black-spotted, indestructible skintight Ladybug costume. Ladybug detached her yo-yo from her hip, a determined and angry expression on her face. "Alright, let's get this over with," she said in a grim, sour tone. Dashing out of the toilet and through the front doors, Ladybug swung up onto the roof of the bistro, perching crouched and wary on the edge as she looked down at the street. The number of Emoji-Faces had increased sharply in just a few minutes.

"Hey there Bugaboo," Chat Noir said from behind and to her left. "Fancy seeing you here. You're dressed to kill as usual."

"Any sign of the real Akuma victim?" Ladybug asked, ignoring his by-play and scanning the milling crowd below with sharp, alert eyes.

Chat Noir took in Ladybug's tense, aggressive stance and fierce scowl and blinked. "Something troubling you, My Lady?"

Ladybug let out a huff of irritation. "I was having a _really good day_ until about five minutes ago," she said sourly.

Chat Noir felt a pang of sympathy, but hid it behind his usual playful banter. "Did our resident pain in the bug supervillain catch you in the middle of a hot date?"

"As a matter of fact, he did," Ladybug said tersely.

 _*Ouch.*_ Chat Noir winced. Letting the smirk fall from his face, he sighed. "Yeah...to be honest? Same here. I was having a _really_ good time with a _really_ cute girl when _this_ litterbox flipped over on us." He reaffixed his teasing smirk. "Don't get me wrong, Bugaboo, you're still the cat's meow in my book—"

"Save it," Ladybug said. Then, wincing, she added in a more gentle tone, "Sorry." She sighed. "Let's see if we can't figure out what's going on here so we can _both_ get back to our dates and try to salvage what's left of the day."

"Roger that!"

* * *

In her dark bedroom, Viral's mouth twisted into an eerie smile as her fingers danced across her keyboard. Her glasses glowed green. "Where are you, little trash girl..." A bright red exclamation point popped up on her screen. "Oh! Excellent. Ladybug and Chat Noir have joined the chat. Welcome them, my followers!"

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


End file.
